


Family Is Never Painless

by cookies_x3



Series: Stony Bingo 2018 [3]
Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Car Accidents, Clint Barton & Tony Stark Friendship, Deaf Clint Barton, Friendship, Hurt Clint Barton, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, STONY Bingo 2018, Tony Stark Has A Heart, though he doesn't always show it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 16:05:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16021325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookies_x3/pseuds/cookies_x3
Summary: A terrible accident leaves Clint deaf. Tony's not okay with that.Or, the one where Tony is an asshole, at least as long as he thinks someone can see him.





	Family Is Never Painless

'And could you please try to be nice?', Steve asks, already knowing the answer. Tony had for once actually agreed to stand up before lunch and go eat in the cafeteria of Steve's college with him. They are on their way to the cafeteria of Steve's campus. While Tony had graduated a year before he met Steve who had at that time just started his first year, the blond still has to study to earn his degree. Not everyone can be a genius and graduate with 17 after all.   
  
Tony rolls his eyes, looking up from his phone for once since they entered the campus. 'I am always nice.' He always pretends to be busy when he is among people, as if he would know of a thousand better places to be. After four years though Steve had gotten used to this side of Tony.   
  
'Yes, to Bruce and to Thor. But I don't want another incident with Clint like the one last week.', Steve clarifies as if any of them would have forgotten the prank war that had found its ending when Clint's locker almost blew in his face. The two of them hadn't spoken since then and no one knew how bad of a fight would follow. Or how much Nat would be out for Tony's blood.   
  
'Well, I happen to like Bruce and Thor. At least Bruce isn't stupid and knows what I am talking about. And Thor is funny.' Tony crosses his arms, glaring at Steve. 'It's not as if Barton would like me particularly either.'  
  
'So what? They are my friends, you're my boyfriend. I would like you to get along.' That is wishful thinking as they both know. Tony doesn't play well with others, that Bruce and Thor like him is miracle enough. After four years of Clint and Tony knowing each other through Steve they didn't have one civil conversation as far as Steve knows. They always fought and bickered, called each other names and played pranks on one another, so it's no big surprise when Tony doesn't even deign that with an answer.   
  
Steve waves at his friends who already sit on a table outside in the sunshine when they come into view. They are greeted more or less warmly. Tony immediately takes a seat next to Bruce, snatching one of his fries.   
  
Clint gets up when Steve places his bag next to the table so they could get their lunch. He had waited on Steve as usual.   
  
'Can I get you something?', Steve asks when Tony makes no move to accompany them.   
  
The brunet looks up from his conversation with Bruce in which far too many words sound fictional for Steve's liking. Tony had been elated to find another physics major to talk science and shop with. 'A very large coffee, please.', he asks with a smile.   
  
Steve disapproves. 'You already had two for breakfast.'  
  
'Yeah, but this is lunch. Please?', he asks again, making puppy eyes at Steve, knowing the blond always gives in then. Steve rolls his eyes but it is fond exasperation.   
  
Clint makes a retching sound for which he earns himself a glare and a 'Jealous?' from Tony. Steve sighs, making his way inside to where a few students still wait for their lunch and gets in line. He doesn't even want to see Nat's reaction to that statement. While Tony and Clint didn't get along, Nat despised Tony, a mutual feeling. He doesn't trust her one bit, his reason to put on the Stark façade around their friends. No wonder that she regularly questions his and Tony's relationship, worried Tony could use Steve.   
  
'Oh, Stella, what have you got for me today?', Clint asks with a wide grin, his eyes already fixed on the deliciously smelling food when it's their turn to order. Steve can't help but smile at his enthusiasm. Clint had been crazy about Stella's food ever since they first ate here in their first year of college. Now that Steve is in his last, they still regularly eat here, if just for Clint.   
  
'Hello, sweetheart.' Stella beams at him. Then she recommends something which Clint takes as usual without hesitation or second guessing. He really trusts her cooking. It's just the small cafeteria of the campus after all, only serving about a hundred students every day. Then again, Steve has to agree, the food is very good. He takes the same as Clint and gets a sandwich and coffee for Tony who as usual pretends that he could never eat in a cafeteria but his boyfriend hadn't had breakfast today except for the coffee which hardly counts.   
  
Tony still speaks with Bruce, completely ignoring Clint and his side of the table when he and Steve sit down and Steve hands him his sandwich and coffee. Tony accepts it with the smallest smile, one Steve is sure is invisible to the others. He chats with Clint about the latest series the other man had dug out for them to watch, and with Tasha about her new job as a ballet teacher in a local school, a side job she had taken until she finishes her studies. Lunch passes more quickly than Steve would have liked, mentally he already prepares for his afternoon lectures. So when Clint brings his and Tasha's tray away, he prepares to get up as well to accompany Tony to the perimeter and say him goodbye.   
  
'Alright, I gotta go. Stuff to be done.' Clint stands up after some more minutes, stretching. 'See you later, Tasha.' He kisses her cheek, waves at the rest of the table and walks off.   
  
'Have fun!', Thor calls after him, a pleased smile on his face.   
  
'Oh, please. What is fun about shooting arrows at a target?', Tony asks, voice full of boredom. He pokes at his food, looking like he is disgusted by its very existence. He had downed the coffee on the other hand as soon as he had had it in his hand.   
  
Tasha glares at him from across the table but keeps quiet when Steve throws a pleading glance at her. He doesn't want a fight between them right now. He has to write his thesis after all and can't deal with a sulking Tony who'd be hurt more by Tasha's comments than he would let on.   
  
'I also gotta go. Tony, you coming?', Steve asks in an attempt to salvage the situation. Tony nods, ignoring Tasha and stands up, bidding Thor and Bruce goodbye.   
  
'How long will you be out today?', Tony asks casually though Steve can hear that he wants him home rather sooner than later.   
  
Steve takes his hand, uncaring for any looks he might get for being involved with Tony Stark, owner of SI, whom most of his fellow students know as the maker of their phones and tablets. 'Not sure. Still have to go to the library and work on my thesis. Then there is the homework for-'  
  
Suddenly there is the loud squeaking noise of jammed brakes, then a dull thud. A crash that makes the whole yard flinch follows immediately thereafter. Steve had ducked on instinct, pulling Tony down with him. When he turns to see where the noise had come from, he immediately spots the car that had wrapped around a tree close to them, a figure lies not a few meters away from where apparently the gas tank of the car had exploded due to the crash and had set it on fire.   
  
Steve's ears ring as he makes his way to the accident. He almost loses his balance when the ringing doesn't stop but he manages to get to the person who had been hit by the car, immediately recognizing Clint.   
  
'Call an ambulance.', he shouts over his shoulder, trying to see if his friend is okay. For the driver he wouldn't be able to do much, his car already being completely on fire. The heat it radiates almost singes Steve's skin but he drags Clint away from the crash side. Thor helps him not a moment later, having ran the distance between them.   
  
'Clint?', Steve asks, gently tapping the side of his face. The other man is out cold though, his clothes bloodied at some parts and torn. The car must have hit him. Blood trickles out of his ears.   
  
It seems to take an eternity until an ambulance arrives as Steve tries the best he can to make sure their friend is comfortable. The firefighters had already gotten the fire under control, the poor man who had lost control over his car had already been carried off to the hospital with very bad burns.   
  
Natasha is frozen, must be under shock. Bruce had already draped his jacket over her shoulders when the doctors carry her boyfriend to the ambulance to get him into the hospital as well. There's nothing they could do for him here, the paramedics didn't even tell them how bad it is. Steve calls Clint's brother Barney as soon as the ambulance drives off.   
  
They pile into Thor's and Tony's car, then drive after the ambulance to the hospital. Clint's already on his way to surgery when they arrive after a very silent and tense car drive. They remain mostly in silence, waiting for a doctor to come for them. The only thing interrupting their silent vigil is the arrival of Barney whom Thor tells what had happened.   
  
Hours later finally someone comes for them. The doctors use a lot of fancy terms, talking to Nat and Clint's brother for a long time. On the other side of the glass wall the group can't hear a lot but when the doctor is done talking, Steve turns to Bruce, the only of them being vaguely familiar with medical terms.   
  
Bruce sighs deeply, fiddling with his glasses. 'Apart from some fractured rips and a broken leg he's deaf and will be for the rest of his life. The explosion destroyed his eardrum and more. There is too much damage to patch it.', he says in a low voice. Steve looks back at Clint who still is unconscious when they cart him out of the recovery room. Damn.   
  
XXXXX  
  
'Tony?', Steve calls into the dark room. He knows better than not to check as his boyfriend would sometimes hide in the dark with a tablet and Jarvis to keep him company.   
  
The blond is rewarded by a shout seconds later. 'Back here, sweetie.' Steve wades through the gadgets that litter the floor and tables of Tony's workshop, things and projects he had started on but hadn't come around to finish yet. Dum-E greets Steve with a whir as soon as he gets into view and zooms over. Steve pats him, knowing how much the robot loves the affection. It had been a project of Tony when he was still in college, a very rudimentary artificial intelligence and nothing compared to Jarvis who watches over the whole penthouse. When Tony had installed him (of course before even asking Steve's permission or actually mentioning that he created a fully functional AI) Steve had to get used to the idea of being watched 24 hours a day. Now it is as normal as breathing to ask Jarvis to turn the music up or dim the lights or get Tony his morning coffee ready.   
  
The brunet is hiding at the back of his shop though that could have been unintentional. He is hunched over a workbench, sliding up his dark welding goggles when Steve nears. 'What's up?'  
  
'Not much, I was just looking for you.', Steve says, leaning on the bench to look at Tony's latest project. It's nothing like anything Tony had created before. It looks tiny, Steve can't fathom what it is for. The precision welder is on hold, Butterfingers is holding the rest of Tony's tools. Usually the genius is busy trying to build up his empire after his father died a few years ago, leaving a weapons company to him, something Tony never had wanted to do. This doesn't look like one of the devises he usually produces to earn enough so he could convince the shareholders that it was the right decision to stop manufacturing weapons.   
  
'Uh, am I in trouble?', Tony wants to know, a smile playing around the edges of his mouth. He hands Butterfingers his welder, turning fully to his boyfriend.   
  
'No, you're not. What are you working on?', Steve asks, trying to sneak a peek at the schematics. Tony is faster than him though and pulls the holographic screen away.   
  
'Just stuff.', he says so offhandedly that Steve grows suspicious. He would have to ask Jarvis about this later. He trusts Tony and knows he would never invent something intentionally harmful but that doesn't mean that the machine that would destroy this planet wouldn't be from his hand.   
  
'Alright.', he drawls, not feeling like prying just yet. 'I just wanted to let you know that Nat and I are on the way to the hospital.' When Tony doesn't react in the slightest, Steve raises an eyebrow. 'Do you want to come with us?'  
  
'Not particularly. You know me and hospitals aren't great friends.', Tony says, keeping his voice light.   
  
'Tony, it's the right thing to do when one your friends is lying there on his own.', Steve reprimands him with a sigh, having had this discussion with his boyfriend many times. Usually though it was about Tony finally needing to see a doctor.   
  
'He is deaf, holding his hand won't change that.', Tony states so icily that Steve almost flinches. There is a hard edge to his voice when he turns back to his work, picking up the welder once more, sliding the goggles back in place. 'That's just not my style.'  
  
No, but it is just like Tony to hide in his workshop until it all had blown over, Steve thinks sadly. He hates seeing someone else getting hurt but he doesn't know how to deal with these emotions. That is just like Tony to distract himself with a gadget until the unchangeable fact that Clint would be deaf would not be so crushing anymore.   
  
'Okay, see you later, honey.', Steve says, a little downcast. He had hoped to have Tony at his side. It's been a week since the accident and the group is taking it pretty hard. The hospital had already organized someone to teach Clint and his family the basics of sign language. It's frustrating to see the usually so happy Clint struggling.   
  
When Steve climbs into Tasha's car alone, she raises an eyebrow but doesn't say a thing about Tony's absence. She must have already counted on it. Steve knows what exactly she thinks about his relationship with Tony. They pick up Thor on the way who isn't so quiet about the missing of the genius.  
  
'Where is Stark?', he asks, looking at Steve for an excuse he doesn't have. He could easily lie but that seems wrong.   
  
'He stayed home. A lot of work that needs to be done.', Steve answers, looking straight ahead as if that would take the sting out of the words.   
  
Thor frowns deeply. 'His friend lies in a hospital with a grave injury and he prefers to work? That is not right.'  
  
'You think too nicely of him, big guy.', Tasha gets involved. 'Tony is just a jerk.'  
  
Steve throws a disapproving glance in her direction. 'He is not.' He doesn't feel like explaining to them that Tony had had a very traumatic field surgery while he was still a teenager and was being taken to Afghanistan by his father to test some weapons. Tony had never shared much details but the scars on his chest and the mumbling during his many nightmares have given Steve a pretty good idea that if he knew the exact extent of Tony's psychological and physical wounds, he would find a way to travel back in time and hit Howard Stark in the face for ever putting Tony through that.   
  
'Seriously Steve, I don't know why you put up with him and defend him. You deserve much better. You could have anyone.', Tasha huffs, concentrating on driving.   
  
'First, I am not putting up with him. I love Tony with all my heart. And if you would know him better, you would have a better opinion of him as well. He is used to people around him using him. So he keeps them at distance. I know he can be an asshole. A big one at that. Don't think I am blind. He's snarky and secretive and is always putting up a façade so no one sees when he is hurt.' Steve sighs. 'But he is hurt and he is wonderful once he lets you in. He cares about all of you.'  
  
'Actions speak louder than words, and Stark's words are already yelling. He hasn't visited Clint once except that first time you dragged him there. He doesn't care. Just because he says he'd pay the hospital bills doesn't make him a decent person.', Tasha says darkly. Tony had offered to take care of the bills because he knew that neither Clint nor his brother Barney would be able to pay them.   
  
Steve sighs again, not feeling like arguing anymore. Tasha had never felt anything but resentment for Tony and that would probably not change anytime soon.   
  
Clint apparently feels the same, alas, for the world in general. He is depressed by his lack of progress and especially since his friends need to sign him everything slowly, the conversations aren't very interesting nor informative since none of them knows more than a few basic words. The man is clearly sulking, and let's be honest, who wouldn't? Because of his broken leg he can't even leave the bed, the condition worsened by the fact that he can't keep his balance anymore because of the injury of his ear. He grows more irritated by the minute by his friends' behavior.   
  
Steve feels sorry for Clint when he knows he shouldn't. The hobby archer doesn't need pity, he needs support in this situation. Thor and Steve leave Clint and Tasha alone for a while soon after that, getting a coffee. Steve feels helpless and wishes Tony would be at his side. That's not something Tony can do though. So they wait in comfortable silence for Tasha who is just as distressed about the situation as Clint is.   
  
XXXXX  
  
He takes a tentative look at the clock, surprised to find that it is already midnight. Just to make sure though, he asks Jarvis about Steve's whereabouts. When the expected answer, that he is already asleep, comes, Tony packs the few things into his backpack and sneaks into the garage. The drive to the hospital is short, especially since he ignores one or two speed limits on the way.   
  
The guards are no problem whatsoever. After they recognize who is standing in front of them, they open the doors for him and wish him a pleasant evening and a speedy recovery for whoever he is visiting. He rolls his eyes once he is past them.   
  
Tony doesn't bother knocking and opens the door. 'Still awake?', he signs when Barton looks up surprised from a book Natasha had probably left for him. 'That's not very advisable. You had quite the accident there, you should rest, you know.'  
  
'Tony.' The word is slurred, slightly mispronounced given the fact that Barton can't hear himself anymore. His eyes flit between Tony and his hands.   
  
'Yeah, douchebag, whom did you expect?' Tony speaks and signs at the same time, then places his bag on Barton's bed, flopping down on the chair next to him.   
  
Barton still seems surprised. He eyes the bag, then Tony. 'Why do you know sign language?', he asks out loud.   
  
Tony rolls his eyes. 'Picked it up when I was dating a hot chick.' Barton narrows his eyes like he doesn't believe it. Not very surprising seeing as they had known each other since Tony was eighteen and he had been with Steve ever since then. Tony doesn't care if he thinks he is lying. So what if he had spend the past days learning sign language with Jarvis and Dum-E. It's none of Barton's business anyway.   
  
'So, I'm not going to ask you how you are. You look like shit, that's answer enough.' The chair is highly uncomfortable but he stays where he is. Furthermore, Tony makes sure that Barton can read his lips as well as see the signs. The insult startles a grin out of the blond who gives him a finger without missing a beat.   
  
'You're one talking.' That sounds more like the Barton Tony had had a prank war with which is now on temporary hold until things had quieted down a bit. Tony grins back, leaning his elbows on his knees.   
  
'I've got something for you but it's just a prototype so don't expect everything to be perfect. The data the hospital has stored on you is highly insufficient. With a neuronal scan this would have been far easier.' Tony rambles, knowing full well that Barton doesn't understand half of the signs he uses but he doesn't care. He pulls a box out of his backpack and hands it over to Barton. When the latter just stares at him, Tony rolls his eyes again and opens the box for him.   
  
Two dark pieces of high tech rest in it. Tony points at his ears when Barton continues to stare at him like a fish. He signs 'May I?' before he takes the pieces out of the box and walks around the bed to fix them in Barton's ears. They are a little too big yet, one can actually still see them when looking at Barton, a fact that needs to be fixed. Tony makes a mental note to make them smaller next time. After it is done, Tony pulls out his tablet and types away for a moment, then says, 'Tell me how the quality of the sound is.'  
  
Barton startles, gasping. 'Oh my god, I.. I can hear you..' After days of only silence Tony could have chosen a softer way to reintroduce Barton with hearing but it wouldn't be half this funny.   
  
'Yeah, dunderhead. That's good. Means they are working. I can do better than that but I thought you rather prefer crappy hearing than no hearing. No telling how much of my brilliancy you would miss when you can't hear me talking anymore. We can't have that now, can we?', he wants to know, making notes on the tablet. '  
  
Full of wonder Barton looks at him. 'Thank you, Stark.'  
  
Tony waves it off. 'As I said, it's just a prototype, I still need to calibrate it to your hearing. If you give me some more data, I can do better and we can maybe talk about an implant or if you're up for something that permanent.', he says, preparing the tests that would need to be done.   
  
'This is more than I had hoped for.', Barnes admits, feeling the tech with his fingers, snapping them just to see if he would hear it.   
  
'Don't break them, they cost more than your childhood home.', Tony notes dryly.   
  
Barton rolls his eyes. 'As if you would notice, Stark.'  
  
'Hey, you got a Stark patent in your ear now, remember that I can let you listen to Taylor Swift whenever I like.', Tony threatens with a smile on his face.   
  
Barton narrows his eyes. 'Oh, you wouldn't.'   
  
That's how they had always been since they first met each other. They banter, they prank each other, they fight. But in the end, Tony would call Barton his friend and knows the feeling is mutual. They would go to great length to annoy each other but also to help and comfort the other by offering a sense of normality. Tony doesn't do sitting around at someone's sickbed. It would have worried the archer more than his absence.   
  
He had never told Steve about it, but there had been an incident with Barton two years ago. Tony had been sitting around with the archer when Steve had to go to his lecture, when there was a loud boom outside. Something in him had snapped, for several minutes he had been back in Afghanistan, had been back on that surgery table in the middle of nowhere with strange hands in his chest, digging for the rest of the shrapnel. He must have totally broken down there and then on his sofa. Steve would have been fuzzing and would have insisted Tony to lie down and all of that. Everyone else would just have panicked or maybe laughed. When he came to himself again though, Barton had gotten him a glass of water, then, after a long look at Tony, had flopped down on the sofa again and criticized his lack of taste in movies. Tony had quipped back at him that he wouldn't recognize genius if it bit him in the ass. They had never talked about the incident but since then, Tony had known he could trust Barton. He sees him as some kind of brother nowadays. Brothers who don't get along but are there for each other when necessary.   
  
'I need to do some tests to see how well the tech works.', Tony says, putting the good-natured banter aside for the moment, returning to the task at hand. Barton nods.   
  
Jarvis analyzes Barton's reactions to a wide variety sounds. Apparently there is an insufficiency when it comes to the high frequencies, a mistake Tony is sure he can repair. All in all the earpieces work better than he had hoped.   
  
When he is done, he flops back in the chair and gets out the blueprints to work on a second version.   
  
'You should go home, Stark. You look like you could se some sleep.', Clint says when Tony makes no move to get up again.   
  
'Nah, I can't sleep anyway. And I can think better when some mindless creature listens to me when I am brilliant. That's what I've got Dum-E for but you will do well, too.', Tony assures him as he settles in the chair, getting ready to stay till near morning.   
  
Barton starts laughing, getting more comfortable as well. 'Love you too, asshole.', he mutters.   
  
Tony scoffs. 'Yeah, you better, stupid.'   
  
XXXXX  
  
In the morning Steve picks up Natasha to visit Clint before she would have to go to work. Tony hadn't come to bed all night, Steve pretends he didn't notice. He hadn't even seen him and had been a little surprised when Jarvis told him exactly where Sir went last night. They pass the ride in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.   
  
When they open the door to Clint's room, Tasha stops dead in her tracks. She must be shocked by the scene in front of her just as Steve had been surprised. Tony is asleep on the chair near the bed, looking adorable and peaceful. Clint had somewhen in the night gotten a hold of Tony's tablet and had fallen asleep playing some kind of game probably.   
  
It's a peaceful picture, one Steve can't admit comes to his surprise. He just hadn't thought Tony would stay the whole night.   
  
Natasha however hadn't been prepared to find Tony here, especially not after all the brunet had said about hospitals, her boyfriend and the likes. There is no other way to interpret the scene in front of them though as to assume Tony had spend the night at Clint's side before falling asleep in a very uncomfortable looking chair.   
  
The sound of the door must have disturbed the occupants of the room as they both start coming to themselves. Tony rubs his eyes, running his hand through his hair, then he moves his neck slowly, looking for the kinks that had surely found their way into it in that sleep position.   
  
Then his eyes land on Tasha and Steve.   
  
Tony immediately composes himself, nothing in his posture indicates that he had been asleep not half a minute ago. His whole demeanor changes from peaceful to annoyed and busy. 'Good that you're finally here.' He takes a look at his watch as if he has more important things to do than talk to them. 'Means I don't have to hang around.' He stands up, pretending to have spent the night here against his will, as if someone had forced him and not as if he'd fallen asleep talking to Clint. 'See you later, sweetheart.', he says to Steve in that flat media voice the blond knows so well but that Tony hadn't used on him in quite a while. 'Romanov. Legolas.' With that he leaves the room, not once glancing back.   
  
Steve had noticed how he slipped the tablet from Clint's bed. Tasha shakes her head. 'Is this your work?', she wants to know, mistrusting Tony as always.   
  
'Stop bashing Tony, Tasha.' Clint is sitting up now. He can't have possibly read her lips from his position. 'And come over and tell me about your day. That Tony is an ass we all know, now I want to hear all about what I am missing out on.'   
  
Natasha stares at him with her mouth open, not believing what she sees right in front of her eyes. 'You can hear us?', she asks, shock and forbidden relief evident in her voice.   
  
'Not as good as before, but yeah.', he confirms, patting the bed at his side for Natasha to sit down.   
  
Dazed she sits down. The doctors had been quite explicit that he probably would never be able to hear again and now he is sitting here, talking like nothing ever happened. 'What happened?'  
  
'Tony happened.', Steve tells her, grinning at Clint like an idiot. 'Morning, Clint.'  
  
'A good morning to you too, Steve. It's good to hear you again.', he adds with a grin. 'Seriously though, guys, it's good to hear again. I was slowly going insane here.', he admits. He shows off the earpieces Tony had built him, telling them how great it is to hear his own voice again. Tasha calls in sick and they spend the rest of the morning listening to Clint's rambling about whatever comes to his minds and describing, meal by meal, what wonders of Stella he had been missing out on.   
  
XXXXX  
  
Steve doesn't turn on the light when he enters the bed room that night. The regular breathing of Tony reaches his ears when he strips down to his boxers and carefully slides into bed as to not startle the other man. Tony lies on his side, not moving when Steve makes himself comfortable spooning the brunet.   
  
'Why don't you let anyone else see what I see?', Steve asks when he presses a kiss to Tony's shoulder. He does know the genius well enough to recognize his breathing when he is asleep and when he pretends to be.   
  
'Cause it's none of their business. And I didn't do anything special.', he says, deflecting the admiration as usual. Tony moves a little as if uncomfortable but Steve holds him closer.   
  
'Nah, you just gave Clint the ability to hear. Nothing special about that. He barely noticed the difference.', Steve scoffs. How can Tony just think so little of his own work? Steve knows that Tony does more good in this world than he would ever admit and than most people would ever see. He just wants the world to see Tony for who he really is and not judge him by his snarky behavior or his pompous words. He wants them to just once see the Tony Stark Steve sees when he looks at him. The person who would spend six nights holed up in his lab for a person he claims to find annoying and stupid.   
  
Tony turns in his arms to glare at him. 'Are you making fun of me?', he demands to know.   
  
'Never.', Steve says, not missing a beat. 'I just would want you to trust our friends enough to show them who you truly are.'   
  
'What do I care what others think of me?'  
  
Steve smiles. They both know Tony gives a great deal of what other people think of him though he prefers to pretend otherwise. He goes to great length to hide that he cares, afraid that this caring would be misused and he would end up hurt again.   
  
'Do you trust me?', he asks instead, caressing Tony's cheek, coaxing the genius to relax. The brunet nods. 'Then I don't ask for more.'   
  
He looks at Steve as if he is a particularly difficult problem he wants to solve. 'Why do you put up with me?', Tony asks, sounding as insecure as he had when the doctors announced his parents' death. Steve kisses his shoulder.   
  
'I don't put up with you. You are such a wonderful person and you don't even see that. When you see a problem you don't succumb to it. You don't stand around idly like the rest of us. You're a fixer. You don't mourn what is lost, you take the pieces and make them better.', Steve says, conviction audible in every word. 'You're a hero.'  
  
Tony shakes his head, cuddling into Steve's embrace. He rests his forehead against his shoulder. 'Still, I am a mess, I don't care about others.'  
  
'Would someone who doesn't care build Clint a prosthesis so he can hear again? When will you finally stop pretending to be selfish and let everyone see what a brilliant compassionate man you are?' Steve smiles, knowing that this is not something Tony will ever do. He's been hurt too much in the past to trust people easily with this part of himself. 'I love you. With your hiding and pretending and everything.'   
  
Tony huffs out a laugh but cuddles deeper into the embrace. 'Sap.', he says, as if he would mind. Then, very quietly, he says: 'I love you too.'

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my fill for the square 'Who you are in the dark' from by bingo card. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
